Sudhir to Hire ‘Dream Defence Team’ in Showdown with Bank of Uganda

Ugandans are looking forward to one of the greatest legal battles in recent history with wealthy businessman Sudhir Ruparelia facing off with the Central Bank.

Through Dfcu, Bank of Uganda has sued Sudhir and his Meera Investments, accusing him of fraud that reportedly caused Crane Bank a loss of Shs 400bn.

In the documents submitted to the Commercial Court, the Central Bank claims Sudhir siphoned over $92m from Crane Bank over a period of many years.

Bank of Uganda now wants Sudhir to pay back $92m at an interest rate of 12 percent per annum and 26 percent for more than Shs 8.2bn.

Sudhir was among the shareholders in Crane Bank which was last year put under receivership by the Central Bank for reportedly being undercapitalized.

Officials at the bank said then that the financial institution was a victim of a failing economy that saw most of its client fall short of paying back their loans.

The Bank further said its management had not been given enough time to find new investors before being taken over by Bank of Uganda.

Meanwhile, sources have told ChimpReports that Sudhir is currently mobilising some of the finest commercial lawyers to defend him in court.

“The lawyers representing him will be some of the best in the industry,” said a reliable source.

We were further informed that Sudhir was yet to receive the summons to file his defence.

“Sudhir’s legal associates are waiting for the summons for them to act. All sorts of allegations will come under serious scrutiny,” the source added.

Silver Kayondo, a prominent lawyer and researcher said on Twitter that, “There should be an independent review of how Bank of Uganda regulated and supervised Crane Bank to fix the “light touch” lapses.”

BoU is hugely expected to rely on its forensic investigation findings to argue its case at the Commercial Court in Kampala.